Where Does Alabama Stand in the Latest Bracketology Heading Into SEC Tournament?

The regular season wrapped up this weekend and college basketball moves into tournament mode with automatic bids being handed out the next six days.

Will Alabama have to be one of those teams that earns its way into the Big Dance by winning its conference tournament or has the Tide done enough in the regular season to receive an at-large bid? The latest Bracketology projections are out and the Crimson Tide finds itself squarely on the bubble.

Let's take a look at where Avery Johnson's team stands just days before an SEC Tournament game against Texas A&M.

ESPN Bracketology - Last team in

Joe Lunardi has been pretty favorable towards Alabama all year with the amount of quality wins on the resume, but there is no more room for error according to the tournament expert. The latest Bracketology has Alabama listed as the last team which puts it in a play-in game against UCLA. Lunardi answered someone on Twitter that asked about Bama's chances and he said, "Just stop losing." Taking all of this into account, one win in St. Louis might be enough to get the Tide back into the Big Dance.

CBS Sports - Completely out

Turn away, Bama fans. This one is hard to look at. Jerry Palm doesn't just out Alabama out of the his latest bracket, he doesn't even have the Tide as one of his bubble teams. Judging by these projections, it appears Alabama last hope to make it in would be to win the SEC Tournament but Palm might also feel a deep run without a title could still get it done after reading this tweet.

NBC Sports - Last team in

Much like ESPN, NBC Sports has Alabama as the 68th team into the tournament as of now. These projections have Bama playing Syracuse in one of the play-in games in Dayton.

So what should we make of this? Well first, Alabama is clearly not a lock to receive an at-large bid at this point. A sixth straight loss would likely send the team directly to the NIT but even one win doesn't necessarily mean the Tide is safe. Ultimately, it seems like two wins in the SEC Tournament would be enough to earn a spot from the Selection Committee on Sunday but it might also depend on what else happens around the country this week.

If you want to go a little deeper on the topic, check out episode 24 of the Tide 102.9 Alabama Basketball Podcast.